William the Conqueror Wiki
William the Conqueror William of Normandy was one of the most important figures in history. He was born illegitimately to Robert I of Normandy in 1028 in Falaise, France. William was originally known as "William the Bastard" because his parents were not married. When William's father died in 1035, this name changed to William, Duke of Normandy; this name would eventually change to William the Conqueror. William the Conqueror earned his prestige as a significant historical figure when he successfully invaded England in 1066. William was also known for the castles he built and his Domesday Book (middle-ages.org). Early life William the Conqueror's birth was not the standard of a noble; William was born to unmarried parents in 1028 at Falaise Castle. Even though William was born a bastard his father was still Robert I, Duke of Normandy. Because Robert had no other male children William became Robert's heir. When William was a small child Robert decided that he would go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Robert knew that he might not return from his journey so before he left he made his vassals swear their loyalty to William. As was predicted, Robert died on his journey home. William then became Duke of Normandy and was later knighted at age 15. Unfortunately for William, his father's vassals did not take long to forget their vows, and plot to kill William (suite101.com). From the moment William received his Duchy he had to start living his life in fear and violence. His only true allies were murdered before his eyes when he was a small child. First to go was his guardian, Gilbert of Brionne. Osbern, William's uncle was then killed while protecting William from kidnappers that had broken into William's bedroom. Finally, William's tutor was murdered. William's other uncle, Walter was able to save William's life by constantly moving him to safe locations during the night (suite101.com). William's troubles did not stop once he had reached adulthood. The difference was that he then had to face all of his enemies himself. When William was around 20 years old he was forced to enter a war against his cousin, Guy of Burgandy. Guy had challenged William's inheritance so William led an assault against him. With the help of King Henri I, William thwarted his cousin. William would continue to engage in wars for the rest of his life. He later even fought against his ally, King Henri (suite101.com). The constant threat of death as a child must have scarred William. This scarring eventually turned William into the ruthless conqueror people knew him as today. Through his violent childhood William was able to build strong character. William was taught the art of war through personal experience. This is what gave him the ability to conquer England some 20 years later (suite101.com). Battle of Hastings Until 1066 the throne of England was held by a man named Edward the Confessor. When Edward died his brother-in-law, Harold Godwinson decided to take the throne for himself. Harold claimed that Edward gave him the throne when speaking his dying words. This claim greatly angered two men who then decided to invade England. The two men were Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and William, Duke of Normandy (eyewitnesstohistory.com). Harald felt that he deserved the throne of England because of a deal made between Mangus (his nephew) and Harthacut in 1042. Mangus should have taken the throne when Harthacut died (as was the deal), however Mangus was too busy with Denmark to worry about England. The Anglo-Saxon Edward then took the throne in place of Mangus. Mangus later died in 1047. Harald felt that since he was heir to Mangus that he should rightly take the throne when Edward died (eyewitnesstohistory.com). William, on top of being a blood relative of Edward, was actually promised the throne years before. Edward had Harold swear a sacred oath that promised William would be given the throne when Edward died. Harold broke this sacred oath when he put the crown upon his head. This cost him the support of the church. Harold was excommunicated and William was given the support of the church to wage war against Harold (eyewitnesstohistory.com). Hardrada attacked first with the aid of Harold's brother, Tostig. Harold however quickly dispatched his troops to fight the incoming waves of Vikings. Harold successfully crushed Hardrada's assault, but now he had a much larger threat to worry about; William was coming (eyewitnesstohistory.com). William landed his troops at the coast of Pevensey on September 27, 1066; he then marched them north to Hastings. Harold responded by moving his army south to five miles north of Hastings and set up a defensive position. On October 14th, 1066 William marched his troops close to Harold's defence and had his archers move forward to indicate that he was ready. Harold responded by throwing up his shield wall. Harold's shields worked for the majority of the day, but by evening William's men had punched through. Harold was defeated at Hastings and William usurped his position as King (eyewitnesstohistory.com). When William took Harold's throne he also took away the reign of the Anglo-Saxons and brought forth a reign of Normans. William brought all sorts of changes to England with his new Norman government. He changed the laws of England dramatically. Before William, murder was not actually a punishable crime in England. William also abolished slavery. The system of government was changed to the French Feudal system that lasted throughout the middle ages. Finally William brought the Norman language to England which would go on to heavily influence modern day English (englishmonarchs.co.uk). Tower of London/Construction Works As soon as William secured his position as king of England he started his construction works. William was a very religious man so he built many cathedrals and churches. This addition of churches increased the Christian influence on England. William also built 50 castles during his reign. When William took England in 1066 he brought with him the Norman style of architecture. This new style of architecture involved creating buildings with strong walls and arches such as the rib vault. The rib vault then helped influence the Gothic style of architecture (encyclopedia.farlex.com). The most impressive and well known of William's structures was and still is, the Tower of London. The Tower was not actually finished during William's reign because of its massive size. The Tower was a new record for England, over 27m tall with a base of 32m by 36m. William ordered this tower after building a military fortress over top of an old Roman one. This meant that the structure was built under different specifications; the fortress did not contain a motte around the bailey. The Tower of London was a stone structure whereas most structures at the time were made from wood. William brought the idea of building castles and defences out of stone to England. William decided to make a military fortress instead of a palace. This speaks to how much more William cared about England than himself. He knew that building a palace would serve no real purpose so instead he built something that he could defend his country with (Wilde). Through William's construction work he accomplished several things. He strengthened Christianity's grip in England by creating many churches for them, he brought Norman architecture to England, he led the way for Gothic architecture, he changed the building style from wood to stone, and he set up a military base for the defence of England. Domesday Book William was known as a conqueror, but he was also known as an excellent record keeper. In 1085 William found himself in need of money to run his country. William did what most leaders do when they need money; William taxed the people of England. William felt that the best way to assess who would be taxed what would be to create a book containing information on all the people. So in 1085 William ordered the construction of the Domesday Book. The massive book took about a year to construct (essentially-england.com). The Domesday Book is considered a priceless treasure among historians. The book contains information on every little thing that existed in England in 1085. It gives us a perfect view of what it would have really been like to live in medieval England. What is particularly special about the Domesday Book is that it contains information on the average person, not just the rich and powerful. This gives us a more realistic view of the medieval world as opposed to a Disney princess movie (essentially-england.com). Death William's death recorded in various sources. The most reliable of these sources is the Historia Ecclesiastica. In Book VII of the Historia Ecclesiastica it says that William was in the middle of an invasion of the small town Mantes when he became sick and had to return home. William's swollen stomach suggested that he was injured by being throne against the pommel of his horse. William was rushed back to Saint-Gervais, near Rouen, where he would later die (penelope.uchicago.edu). As William was dying he confessed all of his sins and delivered his final words. He felt that he should give back to the people of England to make up for the harsh way he had initially treated them. So William decided to divide up his wealth among the poor and the churches and said "so that what I amassed through evil deeds may be assigned to the holy uses of good men." William even allocated some of his money to Mantes to repair damage done to their churches (penelope.uchicago.edu). William felt sorrowful for what he had done to the people of England. Some of his final words were "I treated the native inhabitants of the kingdom with unreasonable severity, cruelly oppressed high and low, unjustly disinherited many, and caused the death of thousands by starvation and war, especially in Yorkshire....In mad fury I descended on the English of the north like a raging lion, and ordered that their homes and crops with all their equipment and furnishings should be burnt at once and their great flocks and herds of sheep and cattle slaughtered everywhere. So I chastised a great multitude of men and women with the lash of starvation and, alas! was the cruel murderer of many thousands, both young and old, of this fair people." His final request was that if he had ever done someone wrong that he would be forgiven. At his funeral someone announced that the land he was about to be buried in was stolen from his father. The man was compensated with 60 Shillings (penelope.uchicago.edu). William never stopped looking out for his people. He was violent at times, but he tried to make up for it as he died by giving back the wealth to the people. He changed history completely. If not for William, England would have continued to be ruled by Anglo-Saxons. None of the Norman influence would have spilled into England. There would have been no Norman Conquest, no Tower of London, no Domesday Book, nor any of the changes that flowed from them. Without William, the Bastard, the Duke, the Conqueror, the world would be a very different place. Bibliography *"The Childhood of William the Conqueror." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. . *"The Death of William the Conqueror." Sir Thomas Browne. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. . *"The Domesday Book: William the Conqueror's Great Legacy." Essentially England - Exploring English History and Traditional English Food. Web. 17 Dec. 2010. . *"English Architecture, Medieval - Hutchinson Encyclopedia Article about English Architecture, Medieval." Hutchinson Encyclopedia. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. . *"Invasion of England, 1066." EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. . *Wilde, Robert. "William's Tower of London." European History – The History of Europe. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. . *"William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings by Matania. - Military Print Company." Military Art, Military Art Prints. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. . *"William the Conqueror." English Monarchs - A Complete History of the Kings and Queens of England. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. . *"William the Conqueror." Middle Ages. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. . Category:Browse